The present invention relates to the hydrogenation of hydrocarbons and also to the improvement of the life of the catalyst used in the hydrogenation reactor systems and methods.
Fixed-bed catalyst reactors are used to hydrogenate unsaturated hydrocarbons, such as hydrocarbon resins, e.g., for the purpose of removing sulfur, odor, and color from tackifying resins. It is common for such reactors to foul in the initial volume of catalyst. Because various impurities enter the reactor, e.g., coke particles, metal flakes, polymer solids, such particles can fill the void fraction in the catalyst bed. Typically, the voids in the top few feet of the bed can readily fill, forming a consolidated crust of catalyst particles, and over time the pressure drop across this fouled zone becomes prohibitively high.
In petroleum applications of hydroprocessing, a means of delaying the effects of fouling has been addressed by installing filters in the hydrocarbon feedstream upstream of the catalyst bed to trap particulates.
Despite such improvements, pressure drop build-up can still limit the catalyst life cycle. There is thus a continuing need in the art to reduce reactor fouling in hydrogenation systems and methods, and to thereby extend the life of the catalyst bed(s).